Podcast Transcript On December 10, 1896, the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel passed away. In his will, he gifted most of his estate for the creation of a prize that rewarded people for excellence in various forms of human endeavor. Over a hundred years later, the prize he created is one of the most prestigious awards …
Podcast Transcript In 1947, India and Pakistan became independent countries after almost 200 years of British colonial rule. However, this wasn’t just a case of a former colony becoming independent. It was a single colony which was partitioned into two separate countries. That partition had wide-ranging implications, many of which are still being felt today. …
In his 1979 book Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams tells of an alien race that builds a computer to answer the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. The computer took 7.5 million years to come up with the answer. They could have saved a lot of time and money if they …
Podcast Transcript If aliens were to look at the Earth through a telescope from far away and analyze our atmosphere, they would find that the dominant element is nitrogen. Nitrogen makes up 78% of our atmosphere, and it’s all around us. However, it behaves very differently than the other common elements around us. Nitrogen is …
Podcast Transcript In the year 490 BC, one of the most pivotal battles in world history took place. Just north of the City of Athens, Persian and Greek forces clashed in what was to be the first Persian attempt to invade Greece. Despite being seriously outnumbered, the Greeks managed to win a decisive victory that …
One of the biggest innovations in computing over the last several years has been the blockchain. There have been a host of companies that have hyped products using a blockchain. Blockchains are the basis of all cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens. Despite all the talk about blockchains, most people still aren’t totally sure what a blockchain …
Podcast Transcript Under your feet and all around you are rocks and minerals. Many times in your life, you have probably picked up a rock and looked at it. You might have climbed over rocks and mountains and never given a single thought as to what they consist of or what they even are. Rocks …
Podcast Transcript In 1864, Elizabeth Jane Cochran was born in Cochran Mills, Pennsylvania. At the age of 18, she began a career as a journalist writing under a pen name. During her career, she became a pioneer in both investigative journalism and travel writing. She later became a novelist, ran an industrial factory, and was …
Podcast Transcript In 1864, Maximilian, the son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and a member of the Hapsburg dynasty, arrived in Mexico. He had never been to Mexico before, but it was a good first trip, considering that when he arrived, within days, he was crowned the emperor of Mexico. Unfortunately, his rule over …